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Photo: Copy from map by Richard Bartlett, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Called a fort, but this bosky mound was entirely ceremonial, with no defensive role. It's best documented as the place where the O'Neill kings of Tyrone were inaugurated, from the 11th to 16th century, though the earthwork is much older. The new king sat upon Leac na Rí, the royal flagstone, a boulder akin to Scotland's "Stone of Destiny", while his men waved a shoe above his head. In the 13th century the O'Neill court moved to Dungannon but ceremonial shoe-ins continued here to 1585. The Nine Years' War ended O'Neill rule and the English smashed the stone to smithereens (Irish smidiríní, which are even tinier than smiodar, fragments).
Tullyhogue Fort, also spelt Tullaghoge or Tullahoge, is a large mound on the outskirts of Tullyhogue village near Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It has a depressed centre and is surrounded by trees. It is an ancient ceremonial site where the Chiefs of the Clan O'Neill of Tyrone were inaugurated.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Grand mansion on the slopes above Ballinderry River, built 1801-03 to designs of John Nash over the burnt-out ruin of the 17th-century castle. It was bought by the present owners in 1922 for the princely sum of £100, and remains a private residence. Visit by pre-booked tour. There's a golf course on its grounds and a castle cafe. This building is not to be confused with Killymoon Bouncy Castles, which were not designed by Nash.
Picturesque all year round with shrub, butterfly and Japanese gardens, arboretum, ponds and mixed woodlands, with waymarked trails. The Manor was built in 1868 but derelict by the 20th century, and demolished after 1980. The shell of the ground floor and east tower survive, transformed into a Japanese garden. See Sleep for the campsite here, open mid-March to Oct.
Plantation-era mansion, home of the Staples family 1620-2006. It was greatly extended (and the family financially over-extended) with Georgian and Victorian additions. It became derelict in the 20th century but was made over to a charitable trust and restored, Visit by pre-booked tour.
Beetling was the last stage in the manufacture of linen, when it was pounded by wooden mallets or "beetles" to tense the fabric and give it a lustrous finish, which should last for the product's lifetime. In the 19th century this was replaced by other methods and Wellbrook, built in 1830, is the last working beetling mill in Ireland. It's in a picturesque wooded glen on the banks of the Ballinderry River, which powers its 16-ft water wheel.
This beautiful manor house, built around 1680, was home to ten generations of the Lenox-Conynghams, an early Plantation family. It's been owned by the National Trust since 1957 and has a large Costume Museum in the former laundry. There are extensive woodland grounds.
A complex of megaliths dated circa 2000-1500 BC that became buried in bog, and came to light during peat cutting in the 1930s. There are seven stone circles, with low boulders though one is larger and filled with upright smaller stones in a "dragon's teeth" pattern. There are also ten stone rows and 12 cairns. The site is only partly excavated and there's probably much more of it still buried.